Toddler reins - What's your opinion of them?

[Passion]

I ask because I have a 19 month old dd and am due to have my next baby in October. My parents in law and mum have both asked if I intend to get reins - my mother in law says that they literally saved my dh's life when he nearly ran out in front of a car when her other son was playing up.

I have started to think that it makes sense to get some especially as one of my dd's favourite games is to run away from me in street and with a baby in tow it wont be easy to run after her. But looking around me it seems that nobody uses them any more. Is there a reason for this? Have they just gone out of fashion? I sense a general disapproval from my friends when I mention them but nobody seems to be able to give a good reason why. Is there something I should know?

[beansontoast]

i think they are great
ds thinks they are rubbish
guess who wins?




the short one

[pixiefish]

I use them when I'm out and about with dd as otherwise she'd have to be in a pram or sling (she's 16 months) There's no way she understands the concept of walking with mummy and not running off as she's far too young. Saw a thread on here ages ago though about a woman who used them like horse reins to pull the baby about- think that's an extreme case though. Mothercare sell some pink or blue ones as do boots

[beansontoast]

seriously tho
i think they may have gone out of fashion.i was at a city farm in bristol and my son was the only one in them.tbh it helped my back cos i didnt have to bend down quite as far.things are better now that he is a bit taller and i can comfortably hold his hand.
alsio i think children are different in whether or no t they are going to scramble off! my niece never wore reigns and was always perfectly willing to come to her mum and follow on nicely etc.

[hunkermunker]

DS will wear reins when he's bigger.

They're useful if they trip too - you can often catch them before they hit the ground.

[toomanypushchairs]

my dt's 2 1/2 wear them! not for me to hang on to the reigns and them run infront though... they dont mind wearing them but dont like me holding on to them. I say ' I'll hold your hands but if you let go, or run off I'll hold the reigns'.... I rarely have to hold onto them but it makes me feel they are safer. (they don't normally do as i say btw!)

[toomanypushchairs]

sorry, meant to say I don't care if they are fashionable or not! tried wrist straps but they can take them off!

[Janh]

All of mine spent some time in reins - when they are at the stumbly-fally stage as well as the run-away-haha stage they save lots of grief.

If anybody comments negatively just give them a Hard Stare.

[MarsLady]

toomany, when did you put your DTs in them? I've bought twin reins and my BF has visions of me being like a Maypole lol.

[moondog]

Reins are bloody marvellous
As,indeed are playpens

[chilledchic]

i think there fine and sometimes a necessity i used them for a very short time with my ds when he was a similar age and i was pg dont worry about what other folk are doing
my ds is fine without them now but when i used them it was good knowing he was safe and not able to run off

[tarantula]

dd wears them when we remember to bring them with us so not very often then (mind like a sieve me). they are great and mean dd can walk with us rather than legging it out in front of the nearest car, moaning in the buggy or pulling my shoulder out of joint as I carry her. Great invention I think

[morocco]

there's a while yet before your second is born and you might find your dd has grown out of the running away phase by then so ona practical pov, you could wait and save the money til you know you need to get them
have they gone out of fashion? maybe that depends where you live? I've never seen so many in my life since moving back to the NE and heaved a huge sigh of relief when dh posted ours back to us as ds 15 months was driving me insane wanting to walk everywhere (like under cars, into rivers) He loves his reins as now he can toddle around on the pavements.
pmsl today when he came into the study holding his reins in his mouth to tell me he wanted to go out on a walk - my dog does the same thing with her lead

[charellie]

I used to use them all the time for my dt's. They are now 2 years 6 months and I haven't used them for about 4 months now as I have taught them to hold onto the car when I am getting the other twin out of the car. They are also very good at holding my hand.

They were brilliant when they were younger, particularly in busy carparks when it is impossible to keep an eye on both of them. I used to hook the reins over my wrist and hold their hands when we were walking so they didn't really feel they were being restrained.

I used the Lindam ones with the backpack on it. I also used the wrist straps but didn't really get on with these

[giraffeski]

Message withdrawn

[Rarrie]

My DD (19months too) has them and loves them - because the other option is holding my hand (which she hates - restricts her freedom too much!). We never use them as a punishment, but use them in carparks, roads etc - places where it would be dangerous for her to run off. If we're in a pedestrianised area, I just let her tootle along freely with me. Thankfully, she hasn't yet learnt to run away and a simple 'we're going this way' gets her in teh direction I want! So things may well change yet - But I think they're fab, as long as they're not overdone!

[bobbybob]

Way I look at it is the alternative is put them into a buggy (which would have a restraint) so the same thing, except toddler gets the exercise.

I used them when ds was first walking and had no sense and was too little to hold hands (I was tall, he was small, it would have been agony). I got funny looks as really nobody uses them in NZ but I just ignored them.

[dancer77]

My ds 16 months asks to put them on indoors! So he wears them with the strap tucked in the back so he doesn't fall over. I think they are great cause he wants to walk eveywhere but would be off in a flash if I let him loose. He knows that when I get them out he's getting out of his pushchair, that's why he likes them so much. I couldn't careless what people think about them they work for us and keep ds safe. But now you mention I don't say many people using them, although I have seen some.

[jinglybits]

i will use them later, ds is 13mths, dp things they are shocking and akin to taking a dog on a lead! ...but i am in charge, not him

[jinglybits]

thinks, not things

[swedishmum]

I distinctly remember using them with dd1 in Bromley town centre. She at about 16 - 18 months sat on the floor going woof woof. Never tried again.

[NotQuiteCockney]

I never used ours, except as a harness in random highchairs abroad. DS1 went through a running away phase, but when he started walking on the pavement with us, any time he stepped off onto the road, without holding an adult's hand, he was immediately popped back into the pram, with straps done up. He's very good about pavements and roads now, and very easy to walk with.

But then DS1 is our first child, and DS2 was born when he was 3. I certainly understand you'd need them with twins, or with more than one mobile non-trustworthy child.

[Passion]

Thanks for all these comments. Morrocco - you say it depends on where I live as to whether they have gone 'out of fashion' or not and that you see loads in the N.E. Rather predictably, I live in North London so that kind of makes sense doesn't it?! Everyone here has a Bugaboo and a Tripp Trapp but toddler reins..a bit common, surely?Or at least that what the paranoid side of me is reading in to the looks i get when I mention them around other mums here.

But stuff them, I will get some. Even if dd is much better at not running away at two there is the chance that the new baby will make her crave the attention that mummy running after her brings. I will only use them in dangerous areas and never as a punishment but I'd rather be safe than fashionable any day!

[Bonkerz]

i prefer to use the wrist strap. IMO it gives the child a sense of freedom whilst letting me keep control! Use them with my mindees too and causes alot less tantrums than reins.

[nutcracker]

I use them for Ds but i agree that you don't seem to see many people using them nowadays.

I use them mainly because I learnt from dd2's behaviour that they can be there one minute and gone the next and also because dd2 is still prone to running off and so I have to make sure I at least have a good hold of ds.

Ds is 2.6 and has no road sense whatsoever. He will hold my hand but can also pull free, so i think reins are best for him.

[nutcracker]

I never got on with the wrist straps. Dd2 could get hers off easily.